Plan a School Visit
Discover the World We Design
It’s a big world, someone has to design it!
Experience the National Building Museum: explore the people, the processes, and the materials that create buildings and places! During hands-on programs that help meet national standards of learning, students gain a fresh perspective on their surroundings.
The National Building Museum uses the design process to encourage young people to investigate the world and to create innovative solutions to complex problems. By becoming city planners, designers, engineers, and building detectives, students begin to understand that their design decisions can have a positive impact on their environment. At the end of each program, students return to their classrooms with self-constructed projects like a model house, sketchpad of drawings, or “geo” ball. |
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Program Descriptions
Pre-Visit Information and Policies
Educator Resource Packets
Frequently Asked Questions
Information for Homeschool Families
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To view available dates and to register
for 2009-2010 programs, click here:
Program Times
Programs are offered at 10:00 or 10:30 am and at 12:30 pm Monday-Friday, October 1, 2009-June 11, 2010, except for federal holidays. Programs are 1.5 or 2 hours long except for the Lifecycle of a Building, a Street, and a City program (3 hours).
Spend the Entire Day at the National Building Museum
Many 4th to 9th grade classes come for programs in both the morning and afternoon, which allows students to spend an entire day exploring the built environment. Suggested program pairings include Be a Green Builder and Green by Design; and Fuller's Fantastic Geodesic Dome and Be a Green Builder.
Schedule Afternoon Programs
Since morning programs (10:00 or 10:30 am start) fill up quickly, consider scheduling a program in the afternoon (12:30 pm start).
Stay just a little bit longer
Unless noted the Museum’s school programs do not include a tour of any of the Museum’s exhibitions. Plan to stay for an extra hour to visit some of our acclaimed exhibitions for no additional charge and explore the topics you and your students learned about in a different way! Exhibitions on view during the 2009–2010 school year include: Green Community; House of Cars: Innovation and the Parking Garage; Form and Movement: Photographs by Philip Trager; Storefront Churches: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara; Investigating Where We Live; Cityscapes Revealed: Highlights from the Collection; and Washington: Symbol & City. Visit the Exhibitions & Collections page for more information on current and upcoming exhibitions.
Programs for All!
DC Public Schools and Title I Schools
The Museum welcomes District of Columbia Public Schools and Public Charter Schools to participate in its programs at no cost. Additionally, schools with Title I status, regardless of their district, may also book programs at no cost. When you register please be sure to indicate your Title I status and mail or fax (202.376.3564) us a letter from the principal on school letterhead as proof of your status. No Title I letter is necessary for DCPS or DCPCS.
DC Arts & Humanities Education Collaborative’s Arts for Every Student program
The National Building Museum is a participating member of the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative’s Arts for Every Student (AFES) program. AFES is open to DC public and charter schools. Through the AFES program, certain grade groupings are eligible for free transportation for Patterns or Green by Design field trips. Please contact the DC Collaborative for program requirements and information at 202.204.7754, by email at info@dccollaborative.org, or visit www.dccollaborative.org.
Homeschool Students
The National Building Museum’s school programs are ideal for homeschool groups because the Museum can accommodate groups with a variety of ages and mixed learning levels. Individual homeschool students are invited to sign up for programs during the Museum’s first Homeschool Day on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. For more information and to register, visit www.nbm.org/schools-educators/homeschool.html.
Accessibility
The Museum’s school programs are ideal for students with varying abilities or special needs as they are hands-on and are designed to complement a variety of learning styles. Please identify any of your students’ special needs, whether physical or academic, in the comments section when scheduling your visit (e.g., sign-language interpreter, learning disabilities). When you identify your students’ needs, the Museum is better able to adapt school programs to fit their specific needs. A wheelchair accessible entrance is located on G Street.
